


Unca Buck!

by jensencanfricklemyfrackle



Series: Long oneshots (mix) [11]
Category: Gifted (Movie 2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky brought Mary presents, Bucky takes missions, Bucky works with Natasha and Clint, Captain America Bear, Captain America figurine key chain, Dad!Steve, Mary from Gifted, Mary sees Bucky's metal arm for the first time, Presents, Retired Captain America, Sergeant Barnes Bear, Steve adopts Mary, Teddy Bears, Tony extends an olive branch, Unca Buck, Winter Soldier Bear, after the accords, although she suspected, art prodigy, hardcover Moby Dick, not maths prodigy, tickets to Metropolitan Museum of Art, uncle Bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 14:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15121718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jensencanfricklemyfrackle/pseuds/jensencanfricklemyfrackle
Summary: Bucky - or 'Unca Buck' as his niece Mary calls him - rides out on his motorbike to Steve's house that he bought and moved into after he 'retired' from being Captain America. Bucky brings a present for Mary but it turns out that 'Uncle Tony' has already sent her three presents, a Captain America teddy bear, a Sergeant Barnes teddy bear and a Winter Soldier teddy bear - the only one ever made - and he would be glad that Tony was 'extending the olive branch' but he hasn't shown Mary his arm yet....





	Unca Buck!

Bucky was hesitant as he slipped off his motorbike and stepped onto the gravel that lined the driveway which led up to the small but comfortable cottage that his best friend from back in the ‘20’s had bought, Steve Rogers.

Bucky had always admired Steve’s decision to ‘retire’ from the team, to drop his mantle as Captain America and move far away from the city. It had been a year after the accords and everyone that that had joined Steve against Tony and the other Avengers were pardoned after Bucky was proven innocent and Tony had calmed down and dealt with the newly revealed circumstances of his parents death. Tony had finally reached out to Steve with the phone Steve had delivered to him and even though Bucky himself was not particularly involved in the make up talk, he just knew that they hade made up, become friends ‘again’, because of him.

So, after a couple months of making it right with Tony and the rest of the team, integrating the two sides back together again, Steve told Tony and Bucky that he wanted to retire, to get away from everything, his job, the memories of killing and hurting, the people he had killed all in the name for peace. So, that’s how he ended up buying a small house in what seemed like the middle of nowhere but actually was close to a town where he could get the necessities, tall green trees surround his estate, a green lawn behind his house and a dark blue two-seater ute sitting in the driveway with a dark blue Harley Davidson motorbike.

Bucky knew he was always welcome at Steve’s home, and he thought about this as he walked up the short steps that led up to the porch that wrapped around the front half of the house and he just managed to avoid stepping on a small teddy bear that was brown with a bow tie. He raised an eyebrow at it and stepped over it, his metal hand shoving itself into his jacket pocket as he raised his right hand to knock at the door, three solid wraps that hopefully would be heard by Steve with his supersoldier hearing even if he was outside.

Of course, there was one more thing that was new in Steve’s new life, and that new thing announced itself by light footsteps running through the house and up to the door which got yanked open to reveal a small child that was about the same height as Bucky’s hip with loose shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes with specks of green in them. She was dressed in black leggings, a blue shirt and paint splattered sneakers, and she was grinning up at Bucky.

“Unca Buck! You’re here!”

“Hey, kiddo” Bucky grinned back at her as he fell into a crouch and held out his right arm open and she launched herself against him, arms attempting to wrap fully around his waist – the nickname had come from when Mary misheard Steve saying ‘Uncle Buck’ but it stuck - . “Where’s your pa?”

“Right here, Buck” Bucky looked up at the sound of Steve’s voice and saw Steve standing in the hallway, barefooted and wearing grey sweats and a white shirt, that like always, was slightly just too tight, blonde hair the same shade as the girl that was hugging Bucky. “Come on, Mary, I think Bucky likes his ribs”

Bucky grinned at Steve as he went along with it, patting Mary’s back as he fake coughed. “Come on, kiddo, you’re nearly cracking a rib”

Mary let go with a giggle and ran back to Steve who lifted her up and settled her on his hip, her arms wrapping around his neck. Steve had adopted Mary a month after he ‘retired’ from an orphanage in New York. He had taken notice of the 7-year-old girl because she was sitting alone in the corner at a table, ignoring everyone and focusing on a piece of paper in front of her and a piece of paper in front of her and the pencil in her hand, intensely focused on a pencil drawing. She had ignored Steve when he walked up to her - the head of the orphanage watching curiously – and she kept ignoring him when he grabbed another chair and sat at the table opposite her, taking a clean piece of paper from a pile and a pencil and began to draw. He kept quiet for 10 minutes before he put down his pencil and carefully slid the piece of paper over towards the girl. She only glanced up for a second before looking back at the drawing, bright eyes flicking up to then look at Steve who was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed and one eyebrow quirked up, a small smile on his lips.

“Is it up to your standards?”

His sketch was of Brooklyn Bridge and the girl had stared at him for a moment before giving him a small smile and holding her hand out for a handshake.

Steve ended up adopting her and she turned out to be an art prodigy, and when Steve gave her the chance and materials, she produced beautiful pieces of work. But she didn’t have any desire to sell, or do anything with them, and Steve was content with that. It was a couple of weeks after that Steve invited Bucky over and introduced them. Bucky and Mary had hit it off instantly, horsing around with each other but Bucky kept a careful mind to hide his metal arm under long sleeved shirts and gloves. He came around every second weekend or so, when he wasn’t on missions with Natasha and Clint. He was still seen as the Winter Soldier by some, but he was redeeming himself, slowly with every criminal he brought in and every crime and murder he stopped. Yet he still found it hard to reveal his arm to her.

“Oh, papa, can I show Unca Buck the things that we got last week?” Mary was practically bouncing in Steve’s arms as she looked eagerly at Steve, who now had a mischievous smirk on his lips as he placed Mary back on the floor.

“Sure, Sweetheart, I’m sure he’d love to see them”

Mary grinned and took off through the house and Bucky looked at Steve with inquiry in his gaze, but Steve just shrugged and gestured Bucky forward into the hall, moving past him to close the door.

“Steve? What are the things?”

“When are you gonna show her your arm, Buck?” Steve didn’t answer Bucky’s question, just turned around and watching Bucky with a curious eye. “She won’t be scared of it, and she damn sure will find out. She’s a smart girl, she has access to the internet”

“Steve – “

“Pal, I’m not going to force you, but your ‘secret’ might be found out sooner than you think”

“Papa, Unca Buck? Where are you?”

“Still in the hallway, sweetheart” Steve winked at Bucky before the sound of footsteps echoed through the house and Mary came running back into the hallway with three teddy bears clutched in her arms. Bucky recognised the bears uniforms immediately and his nose flares as his metal hand in his jacket pocket clenches into a fist.

The first teddy bear was a Captain America bear with the recognisable uniform and shield attached, and the second bear was what must have been the Sergeant Barnes teddy bear, with the familiar blue pea coat that he used to wear in the days that he was part of the Howling Commandos. And the third teddy bear was what was making his jaw clench. It was clad in a black uniform, and a black eye mask was on the bear’s face – and its left arm was made to look like metal. A Winter Soldier teddy bear.

“Unca Buck, do you like them?” Mary was beaming up at Bucky who let out a silent sigh as he dropped into a crouch and beckoned for the blonde to come closer.

“Bring ‘em here, let’s see them”

Mary happily sprung forward and held out all three teddy bears out to him, which he took, placing them carefully on the floor as he picked up the Captain America one and examined it closely.

“Looks just like you, Stevie” He sent Steve a strained smile as Mary tapped the bear on the head.

“This one’s Papa, and that’s you” Mary pointed to the teddy in the blue coat. Then her lips pursed as she picked up the Winter Soldier bear. “But this one is also you. This bear has a metal arm”

Bucky gulped and he heard the machinery in his left arm whir in his anxiousness, and Mary reached out and tapped him on his left shoulder.

“Uncle Bucky, can I see your metal arm?”

Bucky stayed silent as he avoided looking at Mary and looked over his shoulder at Steve, who gave him an encouraging nod and a smile. So, Bucky looked down at the floor in front of him and took his metal hand out of his pocket and slipped off his jacket in one smooth motion and placed it on the floor, his metal arm held out from his body slightly towards Mary. He doesn’t say anything, but he flinches when the pressure plates on his arm felt the pressure of Mary’s fingers taking hold of his hand, the fingers on one hand running over the ridges between the metal plates on his wrist.

“Papa explained that you don’t like your arm” Mary said softly, which made Bucky shoot an annoyed glance at Steve who just shrugged and moved so he was sitting against the opposite wall right behind Mary. “But I can like it enough for the both of us”

Bucky looked at Mary in confusion but she was grinning and she moves forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

“Now kiddo, who got you these?” Bucky asked, and Steve snickered.

“Uncle Tony!” She half yelled into his shoulder in excitement, while Bucky just groaned, his eyebrow raising at Steve who was biting back laughter.

“Yeah, Tony got the original Captain America and Sergeant Barnes bears and he made the Winter Soldier Bear as a sort of ‘olive branch’, apparently. That’s the only one ever made”  
“Thank God” Bucky muttered as Mary moved away and he ruffled her hair with his metal hand. “You sure you aren’t scared of it, sweetheart?”

Mary just scoffed and rolled her eyes, but she giggled when Steve tutted at her, reaching a hand out for her. She moved back towards him after gathering her three teddy bears and Steve sat her down in his lap, cuddling her to him like his own teddy bear.

“Mary, we’ve talked about rolling our eyes, it isn’t polite” Steve reminded her and Mary nodded while making a face at Bucky which Steve didn’t see. “Right?”

“Yes, papa” Mary muttered but she cuddled back against Steve who tightened his grasp around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Bucky couldn’t help but smile at the display of affection and he chuckled to himself which caught Mary and Steve’s attention. “Why are you chuckling, Unca Buck?”

“Well, if you’ve already gotten a present – multiples presents - from Uncle Tony, then you probably don’t want the present that I brought”

“Wait, you brought a present?” Mary was practically vibrating with excitement and Steve grinned as he let her go and Mary bounced up and over to Bucky who was smiling. “Can I please have it? Pretty please?”

“Of course, kiddo, but give me a hug first” Mary excitedly wrapped her arms around his waist and squealed when Bucky picked her up and sat her on his hip and he walked back through the front door and towards his motorbike where his backpack was slung over the handles of the large black bike that he rode all the way here. He held Mary up on his hip with his metal hand while he unzipped his bag and rummaged around in it, pulling out a paper bag with ribbons for handles. He carefully handed it to Mary and then lifted her up and sat her down on the broad leather seat of his motorbike, keeping a steadying hand on her shoulder as she looked up at Steve.

“Can I open it now, pa?”

“Of course, sweetheart”

Mary eagerly opened the bag and gasped quietly as she pulled out the hard cover copy of the ‘Moby Dick’. She was grinning up at Bucky before he gestured for her to look in the book again. She placed the book back in the bag and rummaged through again, giggling as she pulled out a keychain with a small Captain America figurine attached to it, which made Steve snort with amusement. Bucky had made it one of his personal missions to get little pieces of Captain America merchandise and give it to Mary, just to annoy Steve, but it only seemed to amuse him, and it made Mary laugh.

“It’s you, Papa” she grinned and Steve smiled as he moved closer.

“Indeed it is, sweetheart”

“It’s going to join my collection” the blonde girl tittered before Bucky tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

“There’s one more thing in there” he points out as he reaches over her shoulder and reached into the bag, pulling out two slips of paper that looked like tickets.

“What are those, Buck?” Steve sounded curious as he drew closer and took the tickets out of Bucky’s hand.

“They’re tickets for a new art exhibit displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of art” Bucky said hesitantly, eyes glancing up to look at Steve. “I figured Mary might enjoy it and maybe you might get a kick out of it as well. Maybe introduce Mary to Tasha and Clint?”

Steve looked hesitant but Mary reached out for him and he moved closer towards her, tickets in one hand and his other hand ruffling her hair.

“Papa, I want to meet your friends, and Unca Buck’s too. And I’ve read about the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It looks really cool and I think you’ll like it too. Can we please go?”

Steve studied Mary for a moment before he broke into a small smile and nodded, reaching out for her and picking her up to carry her on his hip, the present bag sandwhiched between their bodies as she clung to him.

“Okay, kiddo, we can go. When’s the exhibit?”

“Next weekend” Bucky piped up, moving so he was now sitting on his motorbike, backpack zipped closed and now slung around his back, motorbike helmet picked up off the ground and now sitting in his lap, metal fingers and flesh fingers tapping against the helmet in tandem. “The tickets include rooms at a nearby hotel, I’ve already checked it out. I got the VIP tour and everythin’ for ya”

“Buck, you didn’t have to – “

“Shut it, Steve. I wanted to do this, and I still have a whole bunch of money left over from the Army as compensation since I was ‘KIA’. It was just in sitting in an old Army bank account registered in my name until Stark found it and fixed it up for me. So, just – enjoy it, alright?”

“Are you coming with us, Uncle Bucky?” Mary asked curiously, and Bucky bit at his bottom lip before shaking his head.

“Sorry, Sweetheart, I won’t be coming with ya”

“But why not?”

“Because – it’s going to be like bonding time with you and your pa. But we can always meet up afterwards and introduce to you to Stevie’s old workmates and my current ones. I’ll take you and Steve to a nice café and we’ll have fun. I promise.”

“You pinkie promise?” Mary leant forward in Steve’s arms so much that he had to quickly readjust his hold on her and Mary just held her hand out and closed her hand into a fist apart from her pinkie finger. Bucky just grinned and leaned forward to hook his flesh pinkie with hers, linking the fingers and shaking them, sealing the promise.

“I pinkie promise”


End file.
